Host Nights
by Setsuna24
Summary: Akihito needs extra money, he turns to Momohara Ai for help and she suggests he work at one of her hang-outs. He picks up an extra job at the host club hoping to keep it a secret from his jealous and territorial lover.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Unbetaed**

**I do not own Finder Series**

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**Host Nights **

'_Fuck! They are getting close, if I don't get down this step and out of the alley quick they are going to catch me.'_

He ran down the fire escape ladders, jumping two steps at a time to try to gain some distance. He could hear another group of armed men coming from the opposite side of the alley. He decided to jump the last five steps and land in a crouch to then run out of the dark narrow passage. It would have worked flawlessly too, that is if he had not misjudged the distance and landed on the edge of the last step. His foot slid of the metal surface and he flailed his arms to try to gain some last moment balance hoping to keep himself from falling and hurting himself. It didn't work as well as he hoped. Akihito ended up falling on his side, a piece of glass from a broken bottle digging itself into his hand and his camera flying through the air to crash against the wall opposite him.

The sound of the camera crashing against the hard surface registered as the sound of hopes and dreams breaking to a million pieces, he had no time to dwell on it. Getting up quicker than one who was already starting to sport bruises from his harsh landing should be able to, he picked up his camera from where it had fallen and ran out of the alley tipping some garbage cans on his way out to buy some extra time for his flight.

Out on the sidewalk we quickly looked one way and then the other, trying to figure out the best and fasted route to take. Choosing to run to the left, he disappeared into a large crowd crossing the street, leaving behind him a large number of highly pissed off armed men in cheap suits and dark sunglasses still looking for him.

Akihito hoped into the train seconds before it left the station, heading to Shinjuku. He sat on the first available spot and wrapped a piece of cloth from his shirt around his hand to stop the bleeding though it had already subsided greatly. A couple people looked briefly at his injured bloody hand and then averted their gaze. Tokyo, like any other big city in the world, was one of those places where no one saw anything… ever.

He rode his long metal carriage almost absentmindedly until he reached his stop. The walk to the fancy, upscale building was long and tiring, he was so tired from all the running he did today as well as sore from all his scrapes and bruises.

Halfway down the block it started pouring like heaven's flood gates had just given up and dumped all of their water on Akihito just to spit him. Trying to preserve what was left of his camera and the pictures he had taken today he covered his prized possession with his hoody and sprinted down the sidewalk the last distance to the tall building he resided at.

It had been one of his worst days to date, considering the kind of shit he got into on a daily basis that was saying a lot.

It was his first non Asami related job he had had that month and despite the danger it posed he jumped at the opportunity of some decent cash. A sigh left him as he took of his soiled, wet shoes at the entrance and walked into the condo. Entering his work room, he inspected what was left of his camera. The thing was not ruined but the lens was broken and he would need to buy a new one. Thankfully the pictures he had taken would pay for over half of it so it would not take him long to get his favorite camera fixed.

He should have known better…. When everything else in this cursed day had gone to shit, why would he even hope the film had been save? Why should his film be any different from all the other things today that went completely opposite from what he expected?

He was so damn tire of it all, tired of things not going his way and all going to shit before his eyes. Maybe he should take a moment to examine his life's choices, maybe the problem was there? Akihito contemplated this possibility and decided he would do just that… later.

Right now, he needed a shower. He needed to get rid of the dust, grim, water, blood and God knows what else covering his body. Then he would clean his wound and cook some dinner before Asami got back. He would do all this, after he sat down for a bit and caught his breath. Sitting on the wooden chair in his work room he fell asleep, exhaustion lulling him into a deep dreamless sleep he would not wake form until the next day.

Asami came home that night, several hours after Akihito and found no dinner. _'Odd.'_ All the lights were on signifying his lover was somewhere in the condo but other than wet shoes and footsteps there was no indication the noise tornado that was Takaba Akihito was active. _'Did he already go to sleep? Must have been very tired to not even cook.'_

Akihito had spent half his morning running from his men until he finally lost them, he must have had a job and must have spent the rest of the day climbing buildings and running through dark alleys or warehouses. _'Honestly,' _He sighed. _'It is a miracle I still don't have grey hairs trying to keep up with him.'_

Asami walked into his room and inspected it for any signs that Akihito had been there. Finding nothing he directed his steps to the next possible location, Akihito's work room. He was there, just sitting on a chair lost to a deep sleep in his exhaustion. He was wet and covered in things Asami did not really want to guess the name of. His blond hair was as wet as the rest of him and had several pieces of God knows what sticking to it and out of it. He walked closer to his lover and recoiled at the foul smell coming from either the soiled clothes or the soiled body, he didn't know for sure, but would venture a guess it was from both.

The golden –eyed man took his lover into his arms despite the smell and the tired young man did not even stir into awareness. Carefully the clothes were peeled off the dirty body and it was lowered into a warm bath where strong arms held it up and bathed it. He went as far as washing and brushing the blond locks, the whole time thinking that normally Akihito would have never let him take care of him in such a way. It was disappointing really, that Akihito would not let himself be pampered unless he was sick or exhausted, and he would like to be able to do these things more often.

Asami dried the slender body and got him into underwear and pajamas, despite the fact that he much preferred to see Akihito naked at all times, and then went to place the dirty clothes in a garbage bag which he called Kirishima to collect and burn. Curiosity invaded his mind, he wanted to see what his lover had been up to, so he walked into the work room and inspected the camera. The film was completely ruined; Akihito will not be getting paid. Then his eyes caught the camera, Akihito's favorite, the one he spent hours cleaning and playing with. He picked it up and inspected it noting that the lens had been broken; it was a rather expensive lens too so he knew Akihito would not be able to replace it for a long time considering his meager and random paychecks.

He set the camera back where he found it and left to his room to take a shower in the adjacent bathroom. He could not help it as he crossed the room gazing upon his sleeping lover, he could not help the though as he let the warm water cascade over his body.

'_Maybe I will buy the lens for him; I am in a giving mood today. I'll ask Kirishima to look into it tomorrow. It will be a nice surprise.'_

Akihito woke up the next morning, he was alone, it was quite late and his body still ached from the exertion of the previous day. Briefly the thought 'maybe I'm getting old.' And laughed at himself for thinking such things. At some point as he went through his morning routine he noticed his bandaged hand and a smile crept up his face followed by an amused chuckle, Asami was a softie when no one was watching.

He did some cleaning around the penthouse and then went into his work room finding that his camera still laid here he had placed it, its lens still broken. The good mood he was in despite his body's ache deflated like a balloon so fast that he almost felt like crying. There was no way he would be able to buy a new one for his favorite camera with how his financial situation was currently. Maybe he could ask Asami for a loan? He considered what the interest might be on such a thing when it came to Asami doing anything for him. Fearing for his ability to sit straight for God only knows how long made him discard that option. If he asked Asami for money his ass would be paying the interest and he knew it. He also just knew Asami was not over charging Toichi interest when his ass was payment.

Takaba spent most of the day sighing after he called his boss to tell him the film had been ruined when he was running away from pursuers. A way to distract himself from his current sour mood presented itself as a call from his friend Momohara Ai, she wanted to hang out with him and catch up since they had not seen each other for over four months. She asked to meet at a family restaurant they both enjoy and since he was hungry and she offered to treat him all he could think was _'what the hell, I got nothing better going.'_

Out of his mouth came the simple "sure, I'll meet you there in half an hour."


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Hello friends! I am back to updating my regular fics for a bit, lots of things coming soon for you to look forward to.**

**After a very lengthy conversation with Maddamredder about spreading my literary wings a bit more I have decided to give my original work a chance to see the light and began posting it on FictionPress. I am still using Setsuna24 as my name mainly because I am too lazy to come up with a new one. Check it out if you have time and tell me what you think.**

**Find my original work u/1015520/Setsuna24**

**Also, hit me on tumblr if you want – the pen name is lovelysacrificeme**

**If you have time check out Maddamredder's stuff, it's awesome! u/923878/Maddam-Redder )**

**Betaed by Fifteenfeb who is so absolutely fabulous, I swear!**

**I own nothing related to VF in any way shape or form.**

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**Host Nights 2**

They were sitting across from each other in a somewhat hidden corner at the back of the restaurant. He had just told her about his very hard night and his broken lens and she was holding his hand in a soothing and supporting way, occasionally rubbing her thumb on the back of his hand. Akihito wished their times coincided more, she was nice to hang out with and it was such a different feeling than when he was with the guys. Ai was so caring and gentle. She would listen to him and instead of teasing him; she would try to make him feel better with sweet words and small touches. Until they had started spending time together, he had no idea girls were this nice to be with. He had always been too nervous around them to ask any of them out and before he knew it he was out in the world being a photographer with no time for dating and completely focused on his career. Then Asami happened and officially ended his status as 'available and single'. He never really had the chance to date a girl or even sleep with one for that matter and now he never would. It was one of the very few things he regretted about his high school life and his life before Asami, he never got to know the touch of a woman.

It didn't bother him as much as it did before though, now he had Asami and though the man was a perverted bastard, Akihito did not feel the lack of the experience as much as he used to. But sometimes, at times such as these, where Ai would hold his hand and move to his side of the booth to sit next to him and lay her head on his arm to comfort him, he wished he had not been so scared of the opposite sex when he was younger and had the chance to taste their charms.

They spoke of different things for a while until he mentioned he was going to start looking for some extra work to get a bit of a side income and be able to get a new lens. She had offered to buy him one and he refused. Then she had offered to give him the money and he said no. After that she said she could just loan it to him and he could pay whenever he got some money but he was adamant about earning the money himself. She was quiet for a while, still with her head on his arm and holding his hand, until an idea crossed her mind and she presented it to Akihito like she was giving him salvation itself.

It had started with a "How about working as a host at the club I go to? I have to be there every night to make connections so you can just hang out with me during your time there! It would be perfect!"

She proceeded to explain to him what the job would entail and he was simply not convinced. Though the possibility of pissing Asami off, in a bit of retaliation for being connected to everything illegal in the damn country, was starting to seem like an alluring temptation.

"I swear it will be fine and you won't have to do anything you don't want to. Listen, I hang out there every night after I'm done with work with the agency and during my days off. I can ask for you to take care of me exclusively. I'm close with the owner you know, and that way he won't send you to take care of other patrons. He will always send you to me and I will make sure to order several bottles of really expensive drinks during the night so he won't be mad that I'm keeping such a pretty guy all for myself. It will be fine, Aki. I promise, all you have to do is dress to the nines, look your cute self and hang out with me from 2am to 6am. Should be a piece of cake and the pay is really good." She insisted, getting even closer to him. He was just glad they were covered from prying eyes and hoped that Asami's men had not seen their closeness and reported it to the jealous man.

"I don't know, Ai-chan. It is not the kind of job I am comfortable with. What if some pervert comes in and asks for me?" _'Besides 2am to 6am? That means I will be out by the time Asami gets home and it will take me forty-five minutes to get home so I will barely make it before he has to go to work. He is going to notice something is going on right away.'_

"Really Aki, you are overthinking it. That is not going to happen because I am always there at those hours so you will always be set up to take care of me. I will talk to the owner and ask for you before anyone even has a chance to see you. If it makes you feel better I can call him and let him know you are coming in to get an interview and tell him that if he likes you and decides to keep you, I want you to be my exclusive from now on."

"It will only be temporary, right? He won't expect me to work there forever? I really don't want some huge gorilla telling me I can't quit." _'Not that Asami would stand for anyone trying to keep me working against my will but I'd rather not involve the overbearing bastard in this stuff.'_

She giggled.

"Of course it's temporary, you silly. And I promise there are no gorillas to keep you working against your will."

"Fine, I'll go talk to the owner this afternoon."

Ai squealed in delight at the possibility of spending every night with Akihito and practically jumped on her chair in the family restaurant they were eating at. She really liked Akihito and this was the perfect opportunity to be able to spend more time with him and hopefully charm her way into his heart. There was no way he would not fall for her after spending time together from two to six every night for close to a month.

Akihito hoped he was not going to get in a lot of trouble for this little stunt. In his mind, he was already coming up with excuses and fake assignments that would keep him out for the rest of the month. He would talk to the owner of the club today, which thankfully was not Asami, and then come up with twenty-six excuses to give to his lover. He could tell it was going to be a hard month and it would likely do permanent damage to his nerves trying to hide his new job from Asami.

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**This was a bit shorter than I am used to but lately I find that if I don't try to force myself to write a big chapter I have more desire to actually sit down and write. Not much happened plot wise but this as a transitioning chapter that needed to happen for the story to move on. This fic will likely not be too long, I expect less than 5 chapters because the story itself was never supposed to be too convoluted but since stories have a tendency to get away from me I cannot yet marry myself to a set number of chapters and tell you how long it will be.**

**I hope you enjoyed it and that you are all having a lovely weekend. For those of you who have been so kind as to keep tabs on my emotional state and provide much needed encouragement I am happy to tell you that things are finally well on my side and that life is looking up again. Thank you all and lots of love!**

**Setsuna.**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Hello again!**

**This is another short chapter; I honestly just wanted to get this update out of the way so I could work on WAR! Which is out to beta by the way so you can expect the update sometime tomorrow. I hope to write a longer chapter for this fic next time, I would like to finish this fic in one or two more chapters so depending on how far along I get on the next one and how long it is this fic might be done soon. **

**Thanks to fifteenfeb for betaing.**

**I own nothing.**

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**Host Nights Chapter 3**

They walked together down the street, she had a hat and huge sunglasses on, obscuring her facial features and preventing people from recognizing her, and accosting them both with millions of pictures and questions. He vaguely noticed her body getting closer to his as they walked, and the occasional touching of their fingertips as she tried to subtlety tell him that it was okay to hold her hand. Akihito was completely unaware and absolutely obtuse when it came to women. All he could think of was how long he could keep this charade going before Asami found out about his new place of employment and whether or not he would have enough money put together by the time the man made him quit.

Ai, on the other hand, not being one for long attempts at subtlety, which were so obviously not working, decided to go for a much more direct approach. She went ahead and wrapped her arm around his, resting her hand on his elbow. Akihito looked at her confused for a minute but thought nothing of it since they were just friends. He smiled at her and kept walking once more, completely oblivious. His friends would have found it painful to watch and Akihito would have had no clue whatsoever about why, he just did not see things that were blatantly in his face when it came to the opposite sex.

As they walked down the streets, Ai confirmed that she had called the owner of the club while she was in the bathroom and had everything worked out. Now all Akihito had to do was to go in and have an interview with the man and come in at 2am that same night for his very first night as a host, provided that the owner liked him of course.

He dropped her off at her building's lobby and left before the goons had time to catch up with him. The last thing he needed was Asami bothering his friend and it had taken him hours to lose the men, without actually acting like he was being followed and freaking Ai out. He had four hours until his interview and he was planning on swinging by the condo to pick up some nice clothes from the closet filled of things Asami kept buying him but he never wore. After that he would swing by the hair salon and get his hair styled, because he honestly needed it, and then he would go to the interview.

***VF***

So it wasn't as bad as he had imagined, it actually wasn't that bad at all. He actually liked the owner and the man did not in any way, shape, or form resembled Sakasaki, which was one of his main concerns. There were no gorillas milling about looking menacing and scaring the workers though there were two bouncers making sure rowdy bunches didn't make it into the place and ruin the atmosphere. There were chandeliers and soft instrumental music, a smoking and a non-smoking section, comfortable sitting arrangements for couples, small and large groups. Most of the patrons were people he had actually seen before because they were mostly actors, actresses and models. People that were famous, but were not important enough to get into Sion and rub shoulders with the elite unless they were one of the elite's arm candy for the night. Some of them he had worked with, which was not a prospect he was too happy about. But hey, he had to make a living somehow, right?

He had gotten there at 1:30am and had just enough time to change into the clothes he had gathered from the condo, in a dressing room the club kept for the hosts. He introduced himself to the other hosts and learnt that because the club catered to both men and women, there were male and female hosts as well, such that it made it seem less threatening to him somehow. At exactly two in the morning, his shift started and when he came out of the back, Ai was already sitting on one of the small sitting areas in a balcony upstairs. All he had to do was make it from the door he was standing in front of through the main floor, up the stairs, through the second floor and to the opposite end of the damn place to where Ai was sitting without someone noticing him and asking for his company. Why the hell did she not make it easier to get to her?

He made it halfway there before someone did notice him. Akihito was at the top of the stairs when a scathingly clad woman touched his shoulder and spoke into his ear, asking him if he was available to keep her some company. As much as he tried to tell her he was already booked, she just would not get the message. He tried to find a way out of the situation by discreetly trying to walk away but only succeeded in being chased until he had been cornered by the woman. He found himself between her and the railing that surrounded the second floor, and nearly panicked when the obviously inebriated woman grabbed his junk in front of everyone. Thankfully, Ai had signaled one of the bouncers and the man had gently removed the crazy, junk-grabbing drunk from the club and placed her into a cab.

From there, Ai escorted her host to her reserved sitting area and apologized profusely to him while he proceeded to blush crimson and try to hide his face from the world.

"I swear I didn't know that would happen, I'm so sorry." She said. "I reserved this table so we could be away from everyone else and could have some privacy without people bothering you and then you get accosted on your way here. I swear tomorrow I will wait by the changing room door and we can walk up together, okay? Please, please don't quit. I really want to hang out with you more."

He promised he would still give the place a try if she swore to wait near the door so he did not have to deal with handsy drunk women ever again. After many more apologies and promises from Ai, he just laughed it off and changed the topic of the conversation because frankly it wasn't something he wanted to think of or experience ever again.

They talked and laughed for the rest of the time. Ai's previous regular host was none too happy about the new guy taking away his chance at hooking up with a rich pretty girl, who could give him an easy life, but the two friends were too engrossed in their playful banter to pay attention to the young man sitting at the opposite end on the second floor, on top of a fat older man's lap and glaring daggers at Akihito's head.

Around five in the morning, Akihito heard an indignant squeal come from the other side of the floor and directed his eyes towards it. A young man, about his age with two piercings on his left ear and spiked brown hair, was trying to shove the large hand which had crept way too close to his groin away from him. In the end, it only served to make the customer angry and raise a fit which prompted the same bouncer to come and calm things young man stormed away from the customer and into the back room, where the owner was likely throwing a fit of his own for causing such a scene. The club might not have been as bad as one of Sakazaki's seedy places but Akihito was starting to think that the patrons were just as bad.

At six o'clock, he was already walking into the changing room to dress in his casual clothes and get out before Asami sends his hounds to sniff for him all over Tokyo. Suddenly, a pair of hands pushed him against his locker and held him there by the collar of his shirt. Right in front of him was a very pissed off brown-haired host.

"Listen here, you little shit. I don't know who you think you are or how the hell you wormed your skinny blond ass into Momohara-san's good graces, but you are as stupid as you look if you think you are taking my best client away right under my nose. Stay away from Momohara-san or I will make sure to fuck up your pretty face so no one will like you ever again."

"Chill man, what the hell is wrong with you?" Akihito pushed the brown-haired host away from him and the young man almost stumbled with the force of the push. "Listen here, Ai-chan and I have been friends for a couple years already and she's requesting me as a favor so I can get out of a rough spot. So you can take your territorial bullshit somewhere else because I don't particularly care for it and if she knew what you were really like, there would be no way she would request you again after I'm done working here." The venom that dripped from Akihito's words was so corrosive it would have melted metal, but the other young man was apparently not one to back out.

"You little fuck; I don't punch you in the face right now because I am already in enough trouble with the boss as it is. I don't care if you are her friend or her brother. I don't care. She's mine and you are staying away from her. You are not ruining my chancesat getting a better life, so fuck off."

"Go to hell." Akihito replied as he shoved the other host away and walked out. Suddenly, this job was not as good as it seemed. He should have known it was too good to be true.

The last thing in his mind as he stomped out of the establishment was the fact that in his angry haste, he almost ran over Kuroda Shinji, who came to deliver the owner some legal papers concerning one of the patrons.

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**Oh boy, first day as a host and Aki is already causing problems… kid's got some epic bad luck. Will Kuroda tell Asami? Maybe… maybe not… next chapter will tell.**

**Ah, I am so glad I got this done. I wanted to work on WAR! Soooooo bad, I should be asleep in a NyQuil induced coma so I can hopefully beat this cold that has me looking like a hen killed with a broom… instead I'm thinking of fanfiction and complaining that I have nothing to read despite being following a bazillion fics. *Sigh* I hate exam times, there are not many updates because people have to study.**

**Let me know what you think about the chapter.**

**Next up:**

***WAR! – Already done and sent to beta, should be up soon**

***Loyal – Chapter outline ready**

***Dragon – Chapter outline ready**

***Video-calls – Outline still not done**

***Unexpected – Outline still not done**

***Wild – Outline mostly done**

***Ride – Outline and several sections done**

***Secret – Outline done**

**Oneshots/twoshots I'm working on:**

****Prowl – Sequel to Other – 1k+ words done**

****Henna – Sequel to Turn off the lights – 1k+ words done**

****Hey Mom! – Kind of related to Unworthy – 1k+ words done**

**Other Stuff:**

*****Hybrid – AU about Aki – 2k+ words done (this will actually be a short fic of 5 or 6 chapters)**


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